


Famous

by abstractvalkyrie



Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Bisexual Female Character, Canon Lesbian Relationship, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gay, Gay Male Character, Lesbian Character, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Marvel Universe, Pansexual Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-06-22 05:31:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19660825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abstractvalkyrie/pseuds/abstractvalkyrie
Summary: Carol Danvers, a famous woman, runs away from her fame in search of a smaller life — a simpler one. But instead of finding simplicity and nice sweater knitting old ladies, she finds the love of her life, Valkyrie.





	1. Late Night Talk

  
_**Muscles**_  
I'll be coming over to your place with Bruce tonight. Pepperoni pizza for dinner? Stark often liked that one. We could do spaghetti if you want. Bruce offers some of your favorites, we could stop by the store. Are these texts sending?

_**Brunnhilde**_  
Thor, I have to work tonight. I thought I told you that.

_**Brunnhilde**_  
Tell Bruce I said hello, and yes, your texts are sending.

_**Muscles**_ has added _**Geek**_ to the conversation

_**Brunnhilde**_  
Wow Thor, you figured out how to add people to the chat?

_**Geek**_  
He didn't, I had to do it for him.

_**Muscles** _  
Do not insult me on my lack of knowledge.

_**Geek**_  
No one is insulting you babe

_**Brunnhilde**_  
Go get your own chat you two

_**Brunnhilde**_  
Anyways sorry about work guys. Maybe on Sunday we can have dinner together.

_**Muscles** _  
I will not allow this, your manager can come and talk with me! Bruce don't you agree?

_**Geek** _  
You're sitting right next to me, Thor. You could just ask you know.

_**Brunnhilde**_  
It's for dramatic effect Bruce

_**Muscles** _  
It's settled then! Drinks and dinner at the bar!

_**Muscles**_ has left the chat

_**Brunnhilde**_  
Please tell him that the only food there is deep fried and nasty. He didn't like it last time

_**Geek**_  
It's fine

_**Geek** _  
I'll deal with it when we're there

————

There was no one else inside the bar except for Thor, Bruce, Brunnhilde, and a couple of drunk men mindlessly playing pool in the corner — their money they bet out put on the edge of the table. They would file out eventually, once they lost their match. Brunnhilde always hated to deal with them, because after losing all their money, they felt like they deserved some sort of pity from others. As she always put it, don't be a dumbass and bet on a game you can barely play. But alas, she was the only worker tonight.

"I don't like the food here," Thor admitted, pushing away the bowl of nachos in front of him. Bruce only kissed him on the cheek in response, which ultimately made Thor forget he was upset in the first place. Brunnhilde would have called it cute, but the two boyfriends would never forget she had said it in a million years.

"Do you want another beer, then? If you stay til' after my shift there's a diner that stays open 24/7." The diner was small and Brunnhilde didn't like it very much, but it had the best smoothies and pizza she would ever be able to find. Thor would definitely approve, Bruce was questionable. But whenever Thor is happy, Bruce is too. The diner should do the both of them fine.

Bruce shifted in his seat, setting his head lightly on Thors shoulder. "When does your shift end, Valkyrie?"

"Two in the morning, I have to close the bar tonight. It’s fine if you can’t stay, I wouldn’t want to stay up that long either.” Closing the bar wasn’t exactly difficult, but she would prefer it if her manager would listen and give her the day shift. A night with eight hours of sleep could do her some good one day. Sleeping in was also another alternative, but she was still stubborn as ever.

“ _Brunnhilde_ ,” Thor whined out. “Can I take up on that beer now? I’m definitely going to need it.” Thor started coughing, and loudly. It even drew in the attention of the drunken men all the way across the room.

“Thor, are you sure you’re okay honey?” Bruce asked his boyfriend softly, playing mindlessly with Thors hair. Brunnhilde raised an eyebrow in question before Bruce continued, “He was running a fever last night, threw up, and apparently felt fine. I believed him until now. Guess whatever he has got some effects.”

“I _am_ fine, Bruce.” Thor tried to put on his mean face, but he only turned out to look like a big blonde teddy bear.

“No you aren’t, Thor. Go home you two, it’s fine, I swear,” Brunnhilde assured them.

“But Brunnhilde, we haven’t hung out in a while and I feel bad and I don’t want you to feel left out and—

“Save it Thor, you’re sick. We’ll hang out when you’re not sick, doesn’t that sound a lot better to you?” Thor was right, though. When was the last time they actually hung out for a proper night without one of them having to leave for work or some sort of emergency? Brunnhilde wouldn’t say they were busy all the time, but every chance they got was ruined by some bad turn of luck.

“C’mon Thor, lets go. Bye Valkyrie, we’ll see you later.” Bruce gently helped his boyfriend up, before they both left the bar for good that night. Thor gently waved as they made their way out the door, which made Brunnhilde smile a bit. Just a big blond dumbie and his smart scientist boyfriend. She had made up their mind. They were the cutest couple she had seen, maybe she wouldn’t say it to their faces, but at least that fact was stored in her head somewhere.

————

1:57am, three minutes to close. Brunnhilde had already counted the money for that night, closed the register, swept the floors and cleaned off the counters — which were surprisingly pretty clean. Not to shame her own bar for being dirty, but some customers are just nasty. Or someone had spilled their drink and broken the glass they were drinking it out of. Same thing, right? No, Brunnhilde told herself, not the same thing.

The bell connected to the door rung suddenly, Brunnhilde whipping her head around so fast she swore she would get whiplash. No one ever really came in at closing time, and if they did, they left without question. A blonde woman walked throw the doorway, looking around the place until her eyes landed on Brunnhilde. The two of the exchanges a look, before the blonde decided to speak up.

“Closed?”

Brunnhilde looked at the open sign in the dirty window, which was off, and then back to the woman standing near the entrance. “No, not closed. Not yet at least. Need a drink?”

“I would have one but...”

“Driving alone?”

“You got it. I’m a light-weight too, wouldn’t want to take my chances,” the woman admitted to Brunnhilde, shaking her head. Brunnhilde wished she could say the same for herself, but an alcoholic past was simply an alcoholic past. You could either move past it and forget, or just drown in your feelings and start drinking again. Ironic words from someone who worked at a damn bar.

“No shame, I get it. Also, just- not to be weird or anything, but you look really familiar.” Brunnhilde shut her mouth before she could blabber on about how pretty the woman was and how she could be a movie star if she wanted to. Brunnhilde did that around pretty women. She blubbered her mouth until there was nothing left to say.

“I get that a lot,” the woman replied with an innocent shrug. She walked over to the bar and pulled out a stool, plopping herself down onto the seat. “Familiar face I guess? I heard it’s a small town, anyways.”

“Small town it is.” Brunnhilde checked the clock on the wall, 2:01am. Usually she would’ve been out of here, ready to leave with her car keys in her fingertips. Tonight she could’ve just been running slow, but the woman knew it was for other reasons that she wanted to stay more than usual. She could’ve kicked the blonde woman out because it was closing time, she could’ve done anything and gotten out of here. Why hadn’t she?

The bar could be open (for only the two of them) for a half hour more, right? It wasn’t that big of a deal, the manager could deal with it later. Brunnhilde decided to take a seat right next to the mystery woman, despite any consequence that could come out of this. Getting fired didn’t sound so bad in the moment.

“So, blondie, you got a name?”

“Carol. You?”

“Valkyrie, that’s my nickname anyways.”

Carol quirked up an eyebrow. “And what’s your real name?”

“Let’s save that conversation for another late night.”

“Whatever floats your boat, Val.” 


	2. Chinese Food Comes with Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brunnhilde joins Loki, Thor and Bruce for dinner, while thoughts of Carol roam her mind. And as they talk over their food, Brunnhilde realizes that Chinese food really does come with complications.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! I’ll be editing both of these chapters before I post the third one, so there might be a longer wait. There’s a bit more angst in this chapter but I promise more fluff is to come soon. :) — Liv

  
"Loki! I wasn't expecting to see you here," Brunnhilde told the greasy headed man as she opened up the front door to Thors apartment. The lights outside made his hair shine. If Brunnhilde was stupid, she would guess that it was too much hair gel. But no. Grease. She had once asked him if he ever washed his hair. Loki didn't answer.

"I texted you, Thor and Bruce," Loki muttered, pushing past Brunnhilde and into the building. She closed the door behind them both, following Loki straight into the kitchen. He wore black pants and his favorite green shirt. Typical. But Brunnhilde was secretly glad he wasn't in his armor, at least that much meant he hadn't been causing too much trouble. Last time he did cause trouble, or to her knowledge, Loki had broken into a zoo and let all of the snakes get out of their cages.

That was last week.

The zoo had doubled up their security, and police had been involved for a couple days before they found nothing. No prints, all security cameras wiped of evidence. A sneaky bitch he was.

What did this mean for the zoo in the long run, though? No more snake exhibits. For everyone's safety, according to their sappy Facebook post.

"I might have or might have not blocked your number." Brunnhilde forgot why.

Loki glared at the woman, furrowing his eyebrows. “Why? That’s a bit cold.”

“You can’t say anything about being cold, Greasy,” Brunnhilde sneered at him, opening the fridge in search of food. Water, a couple of beakers (full of who knows what), oranges, leftover pizza, and random snacks shoved into plastic containers. Nothing of real interest, per usual.

“Whatever. Where did Thor and Bruce go?”

“In their bedroom, I believe,” Brunnhilde replied, closing the fridge. It was decorated in pictures of Thor and Bruce together. Some at parties, some of them at the grocery store. A picture on the far right displayed Thor throwing up the peace sign while Bruce (who was much smaller, he was almost not even in the photo) held up a small puppy above his head. Another had Loki and Thor, neither of them looked happy. Loki especially. Brunnhilde had a favorite photo, which was Thor leaning in to kiss a snake. It might be Loki! Look, I’ll try to kiss it and see how it responds!

Thor almost got bit in the eye that day. He was convinced it was his brother.

“I’m not even going to ask about what they’re doing. I don’t want to know.” Loki raised an eyebrow at Brunnhilde, who seemed to be completely zoned out as she walked over to the couch and flipped down stomach first on the furniture. If he hadn’t known her well, he would’ve read her mind carelessly. But he did know Brunnhilde, they trusted each other. Well, sort of. So Loki did it anyways.

“Ah, you didn’t even get her number. What a shame, Valkyrie. I would’ve done differently if I were you,” Loki told the girl, deciding to stay in the kitchen. Chances were she would get mad that he was peeping into her thoughts and memories, and Brunnhilde often had a knife on her. He wasn’t going to get stabbed by her again. Not today.

“Fuck you.” The only sound that came out was a muffled voice. It didn’t even sound like words.

“Sorry, Valkyrie. Couldn’t hear you.”

She lifted her head up briefly to yell at him. “I said, fuck you!” Her face was red now, eyes blown wide.

Brunnhilde didn’t want to start with him today. She told him not to read her mind, or read through her memories like a picture book. The woman wasn’t expecting Loki to actually listen, but he had done a pretty good job of doing that until now. Out of everything, this is what she wanted him not to know.

Loki decided to back down. Not out of sympathy. He just didn’t want to get a stab mark on his favorite shirt. Loki questioned himself, was it sympathy? Nope, it wasn’t. Just his love for his stupid green shirt.

——

Thor discovered very quickly that he would have to order food from a restaurant unless all the four people in the apartment wanted to eat pizza that was days old. Even for Thor eating that would be quite gross, and he loved pizza. In every form. So, he called up a Chinese restaurant that wasn’t too far out of town (with Bruce’s help of course) and got all the chicken and rice that the group could’ve asked for. Loki wanted egg rolls. Thor said no. Bruce was willing to order them. Thor said no again.

So the four waited, and watched shit reality TV shows until they showed up at the doorstep with their food. It started with Keeping Up With The Kardashian’s, until the whole group mutually agreed on a bad romance set-up show. On the stage was a woman, (who was bisexual, stated in the beginning), simply looking for the right person after going around on dating apps had bad results. Brunnhilde was interested until she realized the woman was similar to her in a way. Many ways.

Thor was much enjoying telling the woman on the screen who was good for her, pointing to the blonde woman in the middle — who had a cat, who was a light-weight and just moved into a small town. After the blonde woman on screen (who’s name was Lauren) had explained her background and what she searched for in a woman, Brunnhilde zoned out. She didn’t want to hear it. She didn’t want to remind herself of Carol right now.

Brunnhilde knew she was being over dramatic, but how often was it that she felt extreme feelings towards a woman she had known for one night? She knew she hadn’t had a crush in a while, and honestly it was nice to have feelings again. But to have chances of never seeing them again? This was the part Brunnhilde didn’t want to face. Natural rejection.

If only she had gotten her damn number, this would be a lot easier.

The knocking at the door brought Brunnhilde out of her thoughts. The Chinese food was here.

——

“This, mhm, this is good,” Thor mumbled, a few grains of rice falling from his mouth. Bruce corrected him immediately, saying it was gross and to close his mouth. Thor nodded his head, continuing to shove the fried rice into his mouth. Bruce sighed, deciding not to make a comment on it. With food like this Thor wouldn’t listen, he would just continue to eat.

“Thanks for paying Bruce, I appreciate it,” Brunnhilde thanked him, putting more sesame chicken onto her plate.

“No problem, I don’t mind paying for my friends. And boyfriend.”

“Soon to be husband, I presume?” Loki questioned, acting innocent as he stabbed at his food. Brunnhilde kept her mouth shut, as Thor practically spat out the food he was about to swallow. Loki had obviously read through Bruce’s thoughts as he did hers earlier. Marriage? As much as it was rude to read minds and announce it at dinner, Brunnhilde wasn’t too surprised at the announcement.

Bruce’s face was flushed red. “What? Thor and I are just dating, I’m sure we aren’t ready for that yet.” Loki only let out a short laugh, Brunnhilde kicked him under the table. First warning. Another one, and it would be a stab to the stomach.

“Yes.” Thor coughed out his words. Barely. “We are not ready for marriage. Not now.”

The realization hit Brunnhilde like a brick. How had she not noticed? Thor and Bruce moving in with each other last month, them always being together regardless of just being boyfriends. Bruce working on science experiments out of town, but bringing Thor with him despite what anyone said about safety hazards. One of them had proposed a month ago, and this was the first time anyone had known about it besides Bruce and Thor.

“If you are so certain, show me your left hand, brother.” Had Brunnhilde seen a ring on their hands before and not recognized what it meant? Had she been so oblivious?

“No, Loki.”

“Why not?”

“Leave them alone, Loki!” Brunnhilde yelled at him, slamming her fork down on the dinner table. Bruce jumped in his seat, Loki gulped.

And after that happened, for the rest of the night, everyone was quiet. No one said a single word.

Brunnhilde was left in her own thoughts for the next hour before she left. She set a reminder on her phone to talk to her manager, and work even more hours at the bar, hopefully with some sign of Carol. Solve the problems that had risen when Loki came about, and talk to Thor and Bruce over another dinner or movie night.

Things had just gotten a little more complicated.


	3. A Cat Named Goose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol waits at the bar for Valkyrie to show up, but she doesn’t. Instead of meeting up with the pretty brunette, she meets a beautiful woman named Loki who seems to know her too. The two together may or may not have one too many drinks that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been a while since I’ve updated, I’m alive everyone. Also, included Lady Loki in this chapter since I love the concept so much. Enjoy uwu :)

_Carol shoved all the things she could find into her suitcase, trying her best to make them fit. It was a good thing she wasn't big on shoes or high heels, or stupid dresses that had to be folded a certain way or else it would be ruined. In a sudden rush like this, high heels and thousand dollar dresses were almost literally the last thing on her mind._

_Toothbrush, toothpaste? Yes. Hairbrush? Yes. Socks? Yes. Even if the blonde had forgotten something, it wouldn't hurt to buy another one of that product at a shitty dollar store._

_Oh, shit. Goose._

_Pulling her phone out of her pocket hastily, Carol called the nearest contact that showed up on her list. She tapped her foot out of excessive nervousness, almost shaking. The blonde didn't know why she was even scared._

_"Carol?" Nick answered._

_"I need you to pick up Goose, in an hour maybe?" Carol looked at Goose from across her bedroom and waved at the cat. No answer from Goose, no wave back. Typical._

_"Fine, but you're lucky I'm not busy." Nick sighed, "Care to tell me what the rush is all about, Carol?"_

_Carol really wanted to tell Nick, in truth, she wanted to tell him everything that was running across in her mind right now. It felt like the two had been friends since forever, and even when times came about when they were separated and not very close, Carol tried her best to keep in touch and tell Nick about what was going on in her daily life. Today was a different story._

_They hadn't really talked to each other in weeks, or gone out for food with Maria. Carol calling him out of the blue like this was already weird enough._

_"I'll call you later about it," Carol responded, pulling her suitcase out into the living room. Goose jumped down from her stand, following the blonde out from the bedroom. "It's better when I'm not in a rush, right?"_

_"Yeah. Right."_

_"Bye, Nick."_

_"Bye, Carol."_

——

"Tell me about yourself, Carol," Loki told the blonde, shifting in her seat. The raven headed woman wore a dark green dress, with sleek black hair — Carol would mistaken it for being greasy, but she blamed it on the neon lights that blinked brightly inside of the bar. This woman was absolutely stunning, even the way she talked was beautiful, but even then did Carol realize she still cared about someone a little bit more.

"I had a cat named Goose before I moved here," Carol explained, showing Loki the lock screen of her iPhone. The lock screen was Goose and Carol, the blonde smiling and throwing up a peace sign while the cat on the other hand looked utterly pissed. She didn't mind though, Goose was just a baby sometimes when it came to taking family photos.

Loki smiled at the picture, before letting a short laugh come from her lips. "Goose doesn't look very pleased, must I say. Reminds me a bit of myself."

Carol let out a laugh too, looking down at her cup, full of water. She had refused a beer, waiting on the arrival of Valkyrie. But she never showed up, and the blonde tried not to act disappointed. It was Sunday night anyways, who the hell would decide to work a shift at their bar on a Sunday night? Certainly not Carol, or Valkyrie for this matter.

"You seem lively enough. Not very photogenic?"

"Oh, I'm very photogenic, Carol. I just don't like people," Loki smiled, twisting raven colored strands of her hair around her fingers mindlessly. Carol knew she wasn't very photogenic herself unless she tried to be. Every picture just looked as if she were an alien in human form, trying too hard to act normal to fit in. Poses and perfect smiles were just a bit hard to maintain sometimes. Being like Loki wouldn't be so bad. Carefree, strong, and photogenic. A bit sassy, too.

"I understand where you're coming from on that one. But, not all people are too bad."

"Not all?"

"Not all."

——

"And what did you say?"

_"Whatever floats your boat, Val!"_

Both women were laughing hysterically, and Carol was extremely drunk. After thinking for a while, a drink actually did sound nice. But being an extreme light-weight, it wasn't too long before she was saying random things out of the blue and laughing at the wrong moments. Loki was enjoying it, she liked the company of the drunk blonde. Technically speaking, it would take a lot for Loki to get drunk, and she wasn't willing to bribe the bartender right now.

"But you didn't give her your phone number? What were you thinking, Carol?"

Carol giggled, trying to hold back her laughs. The two were already getting rude looks from people across the building. "I know, I know! It sounds crazy that I say this now. But you know, she was pretty, I got nervous. She was like super beautiful."

"I bet she is. I know a girl exactly like her, wonderful person."

"You know a Valkyrie, too?" Carol started laughing. Again. Loki saw the bartender roll their eyes and sigh out of the corner of her eye. The raven headed woman could give less of a shit, though.

"Yes, quite a coincidence." Loki wasn't really one to apologize, yet alone back down because of her actions, but she felt bad for what had happened with Valkyrie at dinner earlier that night. Weird. Super weird. Loki suddenly got an idea. "I bet it's the same girl, you know. If you fancy this woman so much, why don't I call her up?"

"Wow," Carol widened her eyes with a goofy smile on her face. "You can do that? Tell her I said she's beau— is that a dog?"

A dog commercial played on the television that was set high up on the wall, as Carol ogled at the screen. She hadn't realized that dogs were so beautiful before. Soft fur and cuddles. That sounded really nice right now.

"Brunnhilde, I know it's late as fuck."

"Who's Brunnhilde?" Carol yelled over to Loki, turning her head away from the television. "I want to talk to Valkyrie!"

_"Loki, who's that? Are you in your female form right now? What the fuck?_ " Brunnhilde rambled. _"I swear to fucking Odin if that's Carol I can and will stab your fucking face."_

Loki sighed, she didn't want to be stabbed in the face. "Yes, I'm a woman right now. And yes, that's Carol. I am quite afraid that she is very very drunk. Do you mind picking her up?"

Carol snatched the phone away from Loki, trying her best to keep her balance. Once misstep and she would be on the dirty floor of the bar, not that the blonde even noticed that anyways. She was too drunk to even know her own phone number. "Where's Valkyrie? I want to talk to Valkyrie."

"Jesus Christ," Loki said, rubbing her temple. Brunnhilde was definitely going to stab her, it was bound to happen. She shouldn't have offered Carol that damn drink, she shouldn't have tried to pry into who she was to see who Valkyrie was so interested in. To be honest, Carol was a good woman. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

_"Dammit, Carol. How drunk are you_?" Brunnhilde questioned.

"Are you Valkyrie?"

_"Yes. Now, Carol, listen okay_?"

"I'm listening, mhm, listening, listening."

_"I'm going to pick you up, tell Loki to not take you anywhere. Alright?"_

"Yeah, yeah. Can you tell Valkyrie that I think she's pretty for me?" Carol giggled, stumbling on her feet. Loki grabbed her shoulders to keep her in place.

Brunnhilde smiled, even though the brunette knew Carol wouldn't be able to see it. Or remember it. _"Definitely, I'll tell her immediately._ "


	4. Unicorn Store

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brunnhilde takes care of a hungover Carol, and the two spend the whole day together in her apartment. But after watching Unicorn Store, Brunnhilde has suspicions about who Carol might really be.

The car smelled of fresh linen candle, the radio softly playing old Taylor Swift songs. Brunnhilde sighed, giving a glance to Carol, who was snoring lightly in the passenger seat. Her blonde hair fell over her face in delicate strands, her chest falling up and down with each breath. The brunette turned her attention away from the woman sitting next to her. If she didn't look at the road, they would crash.

" _Dammit, Carol. How drunk are you?" Brunnhilde questioned, pacing around her room. Loki had called in the middle of the night so suddenly, even after what had happened at dinner earlier. The audacity of that greasy headed snake wanted to make the brunette stab him (or her as it sounded like) immediately. Then Carol got on the phone, and she felt a little better, still angry as fuck though._

_"Are you Valkyrie?"_

_Brunnhilde forgot for a moment that Carol only knew her nickname. Hearingthe word Valkyrie slur out of her drunken lips made the brunette a bit dizzy._

_"Yes. Now, Carol, listen okay?" Working at a bar, Valkyrie already had tons of experience with getting the drunken locals to listen, but only if she knew them well enough. If you knew what grabbed their attention the most, or what they wanted in general, they would follow you around like a lamb to their Shepard. And right now, Carol wanted Valkyrie. It made her smile._

_"I'm listening, mhm, listening, listening," Carol muttered into the phone._

_"I'm going to pick you up, tell Loki to not take you anywhere. Alright?"_

_Brunnhilde quickly grabbed her keys off of her nightstand with a hairbrush, rushing to grab a packet of gum and get out of the door as soon as possible. Bad breath and tangled hair was the last thing she really wanted Carol to see right now, but she would be too drunk to notice it anyways. The brunette still felt as if she had to look her best for this blonde._

_"Yeah, yeah. Can you tell Valkyrie that I think she's pretty for me?" Carol giggled from the other end of the phone._

_Brunnhilde stopped moving, and almost dropped everything in her hands. She couldn't even try to stop the smile that was coming on to her face. Carol wouldn't be there to see her smile, or even know that she was talking to the Valkyrie she wanted so bad. "Definitely, I'll tell her immediately."_

Brunnhilde pulled into her apartment complex, swiftly parking the car and taking the keys out of the ignition. The hum of the car died down slowly, Carol still snoring in her seat. The woman shook her shoulders lightly, trying to be as careful as possible not to wake her up abruptly. Tomorrow, Valkyrie knew Carol would have a horrible hangover. She would have to call into work and tell them she wouldn't be showing up. A sick day. That would work, and it technically wasn't even a lie.

"Carol."

"Mm," she grumbled in her sleep, tossing over to the other side so the brunette couldn't see her face anymore. Brunnhilde sighed, contemplating on wether or not to carry her up the stairs. But she was tired, and didn't know how much she weighed.

"Carol, I need you to wake up."

"I don't want to go to school, mom."

This could take a while.

——

Valkyries apartment was rather small, set on the second floor of a three story building. It looked as if the brunette had kept the place tidy and clean at all times, in an attempt for the block structured place to look more normal. It just made it seem more like a confining space actually, but Valkyrie knew that. She just didn't want to go out again and have to hunt from apartment to apartment looking for something cheap enough to fit in her budget but nice enough to look like an actual home.

Brunnhilde just wished Carol would be okay with it once she woke up. When the two had finally gotten up the steps and into her place, the blonde had flopped herself onto the small sofa and fell asleep within seconds. The brunette knew she was practically destined to wake up with a pounding headache, and a pain in her neck if she kept sleeping in the position she was in right now.

Brunnhilde sighed, running her hands over her face. Would a mental to-do list help? Probably not.

One, take care of Carol and make sure she never goes out for drinks with Loki again. Two, call into work and tell them she won't be there to work and call it a sick day. Three, figure out things with Thor and Bruce. Four, stab Loki.

Yeah. That list definitely didn't help.

——

Carol woke up on the couch with a pounding headache, and conveniently some medicine with water on the small coffee table in front of her. The blonde tried to put together the pieces of what happened last night, besides the fact that she was utterly drunk. All she seemed to remember was the woman named Loki, and Valkyrie coming to pick her up.

Oh, shit. Valkyrie. She was in Valkyries apartment.

"You're awake," Val said from the kitchen, which startled the blonde. She continued, "Take that medicine, it'll make you feel better." Valkyrie was scavenging through her own fridge, trying to find food to eat for lunch.

Carol didn't respond, instead turning her head back to look at the table. It made her vision blur a bit, so she laid her head back down on the couch. Her head was still pounding, and she felt like absolute shit. This is why she didn't drink. Because the aftermath was only throwing up and regretting decisions that were made last night. The blonde tried to reach for the medicine, but her hand was just short of where it was.

Carol sighed. She was too tired and felt too bad to do this right now.

"Sit up, lazy. I told you to take the medicine," Valkyrie shook her head and smiled. She was already standing at the side of Carol, medicine and cup of water ready for the blonde to grab.

Carol sat up slowly and took both items, putting the tablets on her tongue and swallowing them with the water. Everything hurt. Her head. Her body. Whatever Val had given her, the blonde hoped it would work. She didn't want to feel like this anymore. She wanted to be up and about, doing something of productive means. Carol handed back the half empty cup back to the brunette.

Valkyrie sighed. "Movie later? I have Netflix."

"Sure. Let me take a nap first."

"It's noon."

"I don't care."

——

Hours later, the two women were snuggled up on the couch together, watching Unicorn Store. Carols headache had gone away, after a couple tablets and throwing up twice. Valkyrie was there to take care of her every single minute of it. And every time the blonde tried to apologize for getting drunk and being hungover, Val only told it that it was okay.

The brunette knew what being an alcoholic was like. Getting hungover once and having someone take care of you was a blessing in her mind. Taking care of Carol like this was the very least she could do.

"Don't you think Kit looks like you?" The brunette asked Carol. This was the tenth time she had asked.

"No," Carol was beginning to panic. She should've told Val to turn on another movie. "She looks like Brie Larson."

"Brie Larson? Huh. Twins."

Carol cursed herself silently. Brie Larson. Is that literally the only name she could come up with?

But after they had exchanged those words, neither of them talked for the rest of the movie.

"What did you think?" Carol asked, snuggling up against Valkyrie. She was extremely warm, and comfy. The blonde wouldn't mind if they stayed like this for hours. It was quite comfortable.

She looked up at Carol. "That Kit still looks like you."

"Seriously, Valkyrie?"

"Seriously."

——

Carol was fast asleep on the couch, while Valkyrie scrolled mindlessly through her phone. Looking up at the blonde, the brunette typed something into the search bar.

' _Unicorn Store_.'

_**UNICORN STORE** _

_2017 • Comedy • 1h 32m_

_After failing out of art school and taking a humdrum office job, a whimsical painter gets a chance to fulfil her lifelong dream of adopting a unicorn._

Nothing. So she searched up something different.

' _Unicorn Store Cast.'_

_**CAROL DANVERS** _

_Kit_

Valkyrie raised her eyebrows. Wasn't this actor supposed to be Brie Larson, not some woman with the same name and looks as Carol? She was beginning to have her suspicions. Another search.

_'Brie Larson_.'

No results. She didn't exist.

_'Carol Danvers_.'

_**CAROL DANVERS** _

_American actress_

Valkyrie scrolled down into articles.

**_CAROL DANVERS, FAMOUS MOVIE STAR GOES MISSING. FANS SPECULATE SHES JUST TAKING A BREAK._ **

****

**_WHO IS CAROL DANVERS, AND WHY HAS SHE GONE MISSING?_ **

****

**_IS CAROL DANVERS DATING CO-STAR MARIA RAMBEAU?_ **

****

**_FANS WORRY ABOUT CAROL DANVERS, FAMOUS ACTRESS FROM UNICORN STORE (2017)_**.

Valkyrie dropped her phone onto the floor. Carol wasn't the woman she thought she was.


	5. Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brunnhilde confronts Carol about who she is.

**_ONE WEEK LATER_ **

"If I am going to talk to anyone about why I'm upset, it's not going to be you," Brunnhilde told Loki, rolling her eyes at him. Had they even apologized to each other for how they were treating each other lately? No. But that was basically their whole friendship. Fuck some shit up, don't apologize because you're stubborn, and get over it. "I could hire a therapist you know, be over dramatic about this."

"We both know you're not going to pay for a therapist," Loki shook his head. "Even if it was to be over dramatic."

"Okay, maybe you're right." Brunnhilde continued, "For the first time in your whole damn life."

"Are you going to let me help or not?"

"Fine." Brunnhilde sighed. "Do it."

Loki put his hand on the brunettes forehead. Sweaty and cold. Valkyrie wanted to push it off almost immediately.

_Brunnhilde stood at the front door of the place Carol was staying at. Tall beige building with too small of a parking lot, grumpy neighbors who didn't like the sound of two people coming up the steps together. The brunette questioned about why she was staying here, if she had so much money, but she pushed those thoughts aside._

_Carol bent down and grabbed her key from under the doormat, unlocking the door as swiftly as possible. "Do you want to come in? I could make you coffee or something, unless you like tea."_

_"Sure. It's a no to the coffee or tea, though."_

_"Okay, that's fine with me." Carol responded, stepping into the apartment as Brunnhilde followed her in. The place looked as if the blonde had just moved into it, quite literally. There was no furniture, no carpets, no signs, no TV. The only items in the kitchen were the coffee maker, fridge, and some bags of food placed down. The brunette closed the door behind her._

_"I won't be staying for long," Brunnhilde told Carol. "I just wanted to ask you a question."_

_The brunette would prefer this if they had somewhere to sit, but there was no seats. Anywhere. So instead, Valkyrie leaned up awkwardly against the counter, trying not to look suspicious. It's just a question, there was nothing to really be worried about._

_"Ask away, Val." Carol opened up the fridge, only to close it again realizing that there was no food. Back at home, the blonde always had fresh stocked food and clean plates ready to go for her to eat. But this was different. The only good tasting foods available at the moment was ramen noodles and microwave meals._

_"Were you ever going to tell me where you were really from? Or who you are?"_

_"What?" Carols head popped up immediately, her eyes widened and heart already starting to race._

_"Carol Danvers? Actress, former pilot? Does that sound familiar to you?" Brunnhilde wanted to take back any questions she had asked. Wanted to hug Carol and tell her she didn't care where she was from or who she previously was. But now that she knew, all that the brunette wanted was the straight truth._

_"I don't know what you're talking about, Valkyrie."_

_"But you do, and that's the problem." The woman let out a shaky breath, trying to calm herself down a bit while Carol stood there in shock. "Carol, you're... famous. You have an acting career and so many people who love you, yet you decided to come to this shitty town for some sort of vacation. I just... I don't understand."_

_Brunnhilde decided that she was going to give Carol an option. Tell her the truth and get over this. Or leave like she had before, and go back to her previous setting. No matter what she chose the brunette would let her, because losing her was better than the blonde being upset and stressed about her past. Brunnhilde would risk it all if it meant she was happy._

_"Not anymore." Carol rubbed the side of her head. "I gave it up to come here, to live like everyone else does. I don't want that fame anymore."_

_"How many people that cared about you did you leave behind?" Brunnhilde wasn't going to be selfish about it. Maybe she did want to take Carol out on a date, introduce her to her favorite movies and listen to playlists they had made for each other. But now, it was different. The blonde had people who cared about her, people who were willing to take care of her if she got hungover, people who would make playlists for her and listen to them together. Valkyrie wasn't going to keep Carol to herself and do that to all of them._

_"Two that I know of, maybe more. Three, actually. My friend Nick. My best friend Maria, and her daughter Monica. I helped raise Monica when Maria needed it most, and I've known Nick for a while now." Carol sighed, not really wanting to look back into that. Sure she had left them, but she hoped that they understood._

_"Then go back to them, Carol," Brunnhilde shook her head. "You can't stay here and waste your life when you have people like them on your side."_

_"And what about you? Don't you care about me, what I'll be doing and how long I'll be gone? I can't just leave you here, either."_

_Brunnhilde walked up to Carol, giving her a soft kiss on the cheek. "I do care about you, and that's why I'm asking you to get the hell out of this place."_

_None of the women said anything as Brunnhilde left the apartment after those words were exchanged, and on the way back to her house to get ready for work, the brunette cried her eyes out._

"And she's back home now, like you wanted her to be?" Loki asked, releasing his hand from her forehead. If he was expecting anything to be in her memories from a week ago, this certainly wasn't it.

"I don't know. I told her to leave, and I'm hoping she did."

"Your actions were extremely stupid, do you know that Brunnhilde?"

"Yes, I'm very aware."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this isn’t the last chapter! more to come :)


	6. Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A month later, Carol finds a new acting role and has a new friend. But awaiting at her apartment, Loki has some news and an invitation to give her.

_**ONE MONTH LATER** _

Carol hadn't forgotten about her short time with Valkyrie, she never did. Coming back home was one of the hardest things she could have ever done, but if it made the brunette happy, she would try to keep it that way. Drama had gone on for about a week once Carol came back, all with her fans and journalists trying to guess her whereabouts. None of them were right. The blonde was glad.

Valkyrie coming into public eye was the last thing she wanted, what would she even think of Carol if that happened because of her?

"Cut!" The director yelled, coming on set and shaking his head. "Carol, speak. You can't just stand there!"

Kevin had been very strict on Carol not freezing there, and sometimes it was hard for the blonde not to. The movie she had scored a role in actually sucked. The whole story line was bad, the dialogue was bad. She fought her urges to sleep and daydream on set. Carol just wanted something to get Valkyrie off her mind, the blonde thought this movie would do the trick.

It didn't.

"Sorry, forgot my line!" Carol lied. "What was it again?"

"Brandon, how could you do this to me?" He quirked up an eyebrow, "You good now?"

"Yes, all good now."

——

"Well, you want me to take you out for a drink or two? Call it a date?" Rowan asked Carol, nudging her shoulder as they walked to their cars. He had been there since day one on set, always being nice to her even though everyone shamed her for forgetting her lines. The whole crew stayed late to film scenes she had messed up on, their annoyance with her was starting to show more and more. Rowan was okay with it most times, and soon claimed himself as her personal assistant. Drinks, makeup, anything she wanted. "You know, I am your personal assistant."

"Ro, you're gay."

"And so are you," Rowan shrugged innocently. "But I never say anything about it." Side note: Carol never came out to Rowan. According to him: _"My gaydar never fails me_." He was right, just as he had predicted.

"We have to work tomorrow," Carol reminded him, pulling her car keys out of her pocket as the car came into view. A stupid air freshener hung from the rear view mirror, Carol would have to take it off and throw it away at home. "It's behind schedule and you know how Kevin is Rowan. He wants it out and in theaters." The car unlocked with a quiet beep.

"Kevin can suck my dick, honestly." Rowan rolled his eyes. He hated Kevin. It was a known fact. Even Kevin knew it himself, but the director didn't care. According to him, assistants don't matter, the actors do.

"Sure, sure. I'm gonna go, see you later Rowan."

"See you later, Carol."

——

Carol walked out of her room in sweatpants and a tank top after her shower, headed to the kitchen to hopefully find a snack to eat. The blonde had gotten rid of any chocolate, unhealthy chips and junk food that sat in her cabinets and replaced them with extremely expensive healthy foods from Whole Foods. Even with coupons and discounts the healthiest things were still three times more expensive than junk food.

The hardest part was getting rid of her favorite ice cream and replacing it with the sugar-free kind.

"Shit!" Carol yelled out, looking at the raven headed woman that stood in her kitchen, twisting her hair on her fingers. "Loki? What the actual fuck?"

"It is indeed me. Apologies for such an abrupt entrance. I am here to talk to you."

Carol never told Loki who she really was, she was sure of that, unless the blonde didn't remember doing so. Did she tell this woman who she was while she was drunk, and where exactly she lived, and where exactly she hid her key? It seemed unlikely, unless the raven headed woman knew that information already.

"How the fuck—"

"Let's say I have abilities. Yes, special abilities." Loki let out a sigh, leaning against the marble counter in the kitchen. "I just want to talk."

"About what? Loki, just please get out. I don't want you in my house." Carol knew that Loki was a nice woman, towards her anyways. But showing up like this in the middle of the night — even with an alarm system that didn't go off — was weird. Extremely weird.

"Valkyrie."

"Yeah, that's it. Get out." Carol pointed towards the door, as Loki widened her eyes.

"Wait, wait! It's an invitation! Take it, and I'm gone."

Loki walked towards Carol, a slip of paper in between her fingers. Carol took it hastily from Loki, pointing towards the door once more. "Out, like you said you would."

Loki sighed, walking towards the door and opening it. She looked back at the blonde, before closing the door behind her. Carol took a second to let out a breath she forgot she was holding, looking down at the paper that lay in her hands.

**_YOU ARE INVITED TO THE WEDDING OF THOR ODINSON AND BRUCE BANNER!_ **

The banner at the top was big and bold, the rest stating the RSVP date, time and location. But at the bottom was a note, probably left by Loki.

_She'll be attending. Give it a chance. — L._

Carol let out a shaky breath. Suddenly, she wasn't hungry anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the second to last chapter of this book! sorry that this was shorter than others, but the next chapter is bound to be longer. until next time :)


	7. Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wedding is finally here, but with one special guest tagging along for Brunnhilde.

Fifteen minutes til' the wedding officially started. Needless to say, Brunnhilde was nervous as hell. At least they all looked good, right?

All the bridesmaids (Brunnhilde, Jane, Darcy, Wanda and Natasha) wore light blue dresses, that flowed down to their ankle and was tight at the top. Thanks to the work of one special greasy ass bitch, every single one of the dresses fit each girl to perfection. Valkyrie wouldn't say it to his face, but she secretly thanked him for not choosing green. The only green thing at this wedding was possibly the grass and flower stems.

Brunnhilde paced around the room, every few minutes or so checking her makeup and hair making sure that it looked alright. Normally she wouldn't have cared what she wore to a formal event, but this was Thor and Bruce's damn wedding. So of course she wanted to look nice, they were her best friends and they deserved as much.

"Brunnhilde, you look fine," Natasha told her, fiddling with the hem of her dress. The brunette had only met this woman two hours ago, but it seemed like her and Thor had a very strong friendship — even though they hadn't seen each other for years. According to Natasha, they were once co-workers. Thor actually having a job seemed weird when she said they were on a team together, but she dismissed it. Probably something weird, like a karate fighting crime group. Valkyrie would bet all her money on it being called the Avengers.

Thirteen minutes.

Where was Carol? Wasn't she invited? It didn't surprise her much. Why show up for something so pointless?

"Brunnhilde," Natasha repeated. "Didn't you hear me? You look beautiful, there's nothing to worry about."

"Yes, nothing to worry about."

——

"Thor Odinson, do you take Bruce Banner to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do." Thor was holding back tears, Brunnhilde could tell even though she could only see his back. The constant sniffling and bringing his sleeve up to wipe his cheek off was gave it away almost immediately.

"Bruce Banner, do you take Thor Odinson to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"You may kiss the groom."

Thor leaned down to kiss Bruce, the smaller man leaning up as the crowd in front of them started clapping and cheering. Soon, Brunnhilde found herself joining them, throwing up her hands in the air as they walked back down the aisle and towards the dining area. They were finally married, Brunnhilde thought it was crazy to really think of it. Marriage was such a weird thought in the first place.

"They're good for each other," Darcy said aloud, nudging Jane. "Too bad you didn't keep him."

"Darcy."

"What? You always ask me to tell you the truth and once I say it you're mad? What's the deal with that?"

——

"I would like my friend— my best friend Brunnhilde to come up to stage, please," Thor spoke into the mic, as the whole crowd dining quieted. The woman widened her eyes, getting out of her seat and fighting the sudden urge to sit back down and stay there. Was she supposed to prepare some sort of sappy speech like the others before her had? They all went up prepared with scripts... and here the brunette was, empty handed.

"Do you want me to give a speech?" Brunnhilde whispered to him as she reached the stage, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Of course! Goodluck!" Thor patted her on the shoulder before running back to sit down with Bruce, a smirk on his face. Damn him and his stupid surprises.

Brunnhilde grabbed the mic, bringing it to her lips. "I'm sorry to say that I didn't prepare a speech for you two, but I guess I'll make one right now."

She took a deep breath. "Thor and Bruce, when I met you five years ago, you two hadn't even begun going out yet, but I knew what was soon to come. Thor, you would always look at Bruce with the most adoring smile, trying to gain his attention in the best way possible. And you Bruce? You did the same, gazing into his eyes claiming that you had no feelings for the man that sits right next to you now. Watching you two fall in love like that and neither of you knowing your feelings for each other was one hell of a pain in the ass. Trust me, I would've said something. But I would've spoiled a moment, right?"

Valkyrie let out a short laugh, before continuing. "Even when you started dating your love for each other was immense. When Thor took you out for your first date, he asked me about a million questions on what to wear and where to take you. Bruce, when you took Thor out for your second date, you did the exact same. Both of you ended up in my bar, asking for more drinks and yelling at the television. I can't remember once where you two actually had a proper nice date. I guess the way you did it makes it more honest somehow.

"Thor, remember the time you were so nervous to tell him you loved him that you said it in another language, trying to get Bruce to understand? Bruce obviously didn't speak it, trying to look it up on Google Translate or use just his brain power to decipher something out of his confession. That took three months for Bruce to figure it out. Man, you sure were oblivious.

"In the end of this all, you two are happily married, and still blinded by your love from each other. Thor and Bruce, thank you for everything you've given me, including your own friendship. I love you two dumbasses."

Everyone applauded, while Thor cried his eyes out for the fifth time that day.

——

"Brunnhilde, someone outside wants to meet you in the garden," Loki told the brunette, pointing towards the exit door. Everyone was on the dance floor, drinking wine or waving their arms in the air carelessly as the photographer snapped photos ever five seconds. Loki shrugged innocently, "Don't ask me, they said it was urgent."

"Fine. But if it's another one of your tricks, I am going to stab you regardless of that suit."

"You wouldn't."

"Don't test me," Brunnhilde told him with a wink, making her way to the exit. As she went out of the building and made her way to the garden, the brunette decided that today was an overall success. Thor and Bruce were happy, and that was really all she needed to know. It was their wedding day, and it went just as planned. Except for a few minor things, like how Loki had let a snake loose into Janes purse just for fun. Besides that, everything went perfect.

Finding an empty bench in front of some flower bushes, Brunnhilde sat down, crossing her legs and leaning back. Even if this was another joke Loki was going to play, the brunette wouldn't mind if she had to sit here all night. It was nice out, even though the dark clouds covered the stars.

"So, your real name is Brunnhilde? Nice speech, by the way."

"Fuck!" The brunette screamed out, looking at the blonde that had suddenly showed up behind the bench, looming over her. How the hell had she not heard her, or ever seen her? Why was Carol even here? (Brunnhilde also took into mind that she wanted Carol here, though she might not admit it.)

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Even in the night Carol looked elegant, wearing a dark blue dress instead of a light blue one like the other bridesmaids. Her hair was curled and pinned, making more of her facial features show. "Before you say anything, I was invited."

"Mhm, sure," Brunnhilde scoffed. "Did Loki put you up to this? Wait, are you Loki?"

Carol stepped from behind the bench, taking a seat next to Valkyrie. "How could I be Loki? Am I a black hair woman wearing a green dress?"

Carol didn't know about his powers. A shame. They would've gotten along.

"Maybe, you could be if you wanted to."

"Yet I'm still Carol, here for you. Not your friend Loki," the blonde said, resting her head on Brunnhilde's shoulder. Even after a month, how was this possible? Brunnhilde knew she hadn't made it abrupt when she told Carol to leave. The blonde needed to leave, she had family.

"Here for me?" Brunnhilde questioned, intertwining her fingers with Carols. It was starting to drizzle, the rain getting harder by the minute. Soon they would have to go back in, but not right now.

"Yes, here for you." The rain in only the span of a minute had turned into a downpour. But the two sat there, completely fine with being wet and ruining their hair. Their hair and fancy dresses never mattered, it was just some piece of cloth that was envied by other people so much. Right now, that was what mattered.

"Are you fine with dinner on Thursday?"

"On Thursday? I can definitely make plans.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters will probably go through some major editing in the future, with an added epilogue. I’m not entirely sure. Right now I’m working on a SteveTony fanfiction to post. But I wanted to say thank you to all the people who supported this story! More to come — Liv


End file.
